A special edition of the Journal of Adolescent Health takes a look at …

Bullying in one form or another has analogs in other primates, so it has probably been an issue for as long as there have been humans. Only recently have authorities recognized that it presents both a discipline problem in schools and public health issue in terms of childhood development. As more of childhood takes place online, reports have suggested that bullying has followed it there, leading to problems at schools and attempts to address it via legislation. A recent issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health explores the topic in depth, with results that suggest both that the extent of the problem may depend on how cyberbullying is defined and that the term may actually encompass more than one phenomenon.

The special edition of the Journal arose from an expert panel on the topic convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in late 2006. The panel apparently discussed some preliminary studies in the area, and the CDC has financed the publication of those studies in a special issue. As a result of that sponsorship, all of the content in this edition is Open Access.

Many of the studies attempt to quantify the extent and impact of cyberbullying, but one thing becomes immediately clear: its extent depends largely on how it's defined. One of the papers describes the situation well by citing some of the past literature on the topic. One study explored online bullying, and determined that 29 percent of youths experienced it. A year later, a study that included cell phones and "other technology" as the medium produced a rate of 43 percent. In contrast, the use a more strict definition termed "online harassment" dropped the figure down to six percent. The age group sampled could also make a big difference. In a population study of Colorado students, cyberbullying was rare before junior high, peaked then, and declined during the high school years.

The Colorado study suggested that, by its definition, cyberbullying appeared to simply be an extension of standard childhood behavior to new media. It explored the perpetration of bullying using the following standards: "I pushed, shoved, tripped, or picked fights with students I know are weaker than me"; "I teased or said mean things to certain students"; "I spread rumors about some students"; and "I told lies about some students through e-mail or instant messaging." All forms of bullying largely followed the same trajectory, rising when peers accepted this behavior, and dropping as the perceived school and peer support for students increased.

Two other studies (one online, one phone survey) suggested that those on the receiving end may actually make up several distinct populations. Anonymity didn't seem to be a major factor in Internet harassment, as nearly half of the victims knew their antagonists. The lack of personal contact, however, may be: nearly 65 percent of the victims did not report offline bullying. This difference extended to how the victims perceived the bullying. Over 80 percent of the targets weren't distressed when the aggressor was anonymous or didn't bother the victim while in school. When the online bullying was part of an orchestrated campaign that included offline offenses, nearly half of the victims found it distressing.

Student focus groups revealed how hard it is for children to turn to authority figures for help. Students didn't mention problems to parents because they felt that the response would include a curtailing of Internet access. School authorities weren't notified because the harassment frequently arrived when students were violating school policies by receiving text messages at school or circumventing filters on school computers.

Combined, these studies suggest that the field should prioritize setting consistent standards for what constitutes bullying and harassment online. Once in place, these might be useful in identifying any aspects of cyberbullying that are distinct from bullying's personal forms. They may also aid in defining those individuals that are likely to face significant emotional consequences from online harassment. In the mean time, if school authorities are interested in helping those on the receiving end, they might consider setting and announcing policies that do not punish victims of harassment for violations committed while receiving it.